Elan Snowboards Gets Snowboard Reps

Burlington, VT, August 12,1999 ¿ Elan Snowboards announced it’s plans to move forward in an aggressive effort to substantiate it’s place in the North American snowboard market. “Elan Snowboards has been extremely successful in our first two years in the marketplace. Now that we’ve got our feet underneath us, it’s time to charge forward and capitalize on our momentum,” says Brian Brand, Elan’s Snowboard Division Manager.

Elan plans to do so by bringing on a team of snowboard specific salesmen, beginning immediately, to better address the needs of specialty shops, while at the same time providing a heightened level of service to those existing dealers already in the fold. “The guys we have in the field now are doing a great job, but they are just spread a little too thin,” states Brand. “Investing in a team of snowboard specific sales reps will only help us to better service our dealers and communicate more effectively with consumers, both on the ski and snowboard fronts,” continues Brand.

“Our current sales force has been doing the work of two or three guys,” adds Rick Sceery, Elan’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing for North America. “Now it’s time give the ball to snowboard specific guys and let them run with it,” finished Sceery.

Elan has designated four key territories as the first to receive snowboard specific sales reps. “New England, Colorado, Northern Cal., and New York/New Jersey will be the first territories where we separate the ski and snowboard sales efforts. Our foothold in these markets justifies the additional support right away,” states Brand.

“We’ve got a strong dealer base in these territories, with both skis and snowboards,” adds Sceery. “It makes sense to concentrate our efforts and tailor our service to the needs of each specific retailer.”

Elan’s plans include bringing on more snowboard reps in 2000. “We’ll look carefully at the big picture at the end of pre-season and make some additional changes as we go forward,” says Brand. “Our five year plan, developed from day one, is right on track.”

Elan also realizes that, with the new sales force, comes an increased need for in-house support. “Not only will we add salesmen out in the field, but also customer service support in house” Sceery comments. “We believe our snowboard division will make up fifty percent of our business in the not-so-distant future. We realize that as we grow our snowboard business, so too must our ability to service the retailer and consumer on all levels,” finished Sceery.

Elan Snowboards has been making snowboards for over 13 years and continues to produce boards for Sims, Nitro and Forum, in addition to their own private label. Elan Snowboards also offers a full line of soft boots and bindings, accessories and is a licensee of the Arcane step-in system.